Thumbpiece latch



Oct. 18, 1949. LlcKTElG 2,485,054

THUMB PIECE LATCH Filed Dec. 11, 1944 s Sheets-Sheefl Inuenfor B8 liixtberf F l;i/ck1e|g Affornegg Oct. 18, 1949. A. F. LICKTEIG 2,485,054

THUMB PIECE LATCH Filed Dec. 11, 1944 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Affornegg Patented Get. 18, 1949 UNITED STATES PAT QFF I'CE THU NEBPIECE LATCH.

Albert F. Lickteig, Grand Rapids, Mich.,. assignorto National Brass Company, Grand Rapids,- Mich a corporation of Michigan Application December 11, 1944, Serial No. 567,539

10 Claims.

This invention relates to a novel construction of door latch which iseasily installed, and in which the latch bolt may be retracted from either side of the door, at the inner side by manual operation of the usual door knob against the resisting force of a relatively heavy spring, and at the outer side by a thumb operated lever against the resistance of a spring of much lighter force. The latch has a cylindrical or barrel type of housing readily installed by boring a hole at the free edge of the hingedly mounted door, into which the latch may be inserted and secured and with an. operating means which is worked from the inner side of the door passing through the housing. of the latch and through a transverse opening in the door for such passage, while at the outer side of the door a thumb operated lever mounting may be secured with a means in the construction of the latch and housed substantially within the latch housing for withdrawing the latch bolt against the lighter spring mentioned. Furthermore as doors to which the latch is applicable are of different thicknesses, novel means is provided; for

' adjusting the latch operating means at the outer side of the door to compensate for variations in the leverage through which the thumb pressure is exerted, whereby for the different thicknesses of doors to which the latch is applicable, substantially the same degree of pressure may be applied to the thumb-piece of the operating lever.

To these ends a novel construction of latchv mechanism, of operating means therefor and for mounting said operating means in proper association with the latch mechanism have been developed by me, an understanding of which may be had from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which,

Fig. 1 is a vertical section through a. door on which the latch of my invention is mounted taken a distance inward from its free vertical edge substantially at the plane where the operating. means for the latch both at the inner and outer sides Of.

. the door are mounted.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary rear elevation of the outside door plate. upon which the thumb operated lever is mounted.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary horizontal section. through the door and through the latch mechanism mounted thereon.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing the major portion of the latch mechanism which is mounted within the housing.

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal vertical section through the latch housing and its interior mechanism with 2 the parts inthe position taken when the latch bolt is projected outwardly.

Fig. 6 is asi mi-lar view showing the parts in the position when the latch bolt is retracted from the outer side otthe door, and

Fig; 7 is a vertical transverse section through the latch substantially at the plane of its bolt withdraw-ing mechanism.

Like reference characters refer to like parts in the difieren-t figures of the drawings.

The doorto which the'latch is applicable, at the proper height and at its free vertical edge is bored horizontally to provide a cylindrical receiving opening 2 for the bodyof the latch. At a distance inwardly of the free edge of the door a transverse opening 3 is made entirelythrough the door, and below it a second opening. 4' is made from the front side of, the door partly there-' through but terminating short of its rear side; and below the opening at Q a shorter opening 5 is made as shown in Fig. 1, all. of the openings being made by means of a bit or auger so'that they are quickly and readily produced. Likewise a, smaller cylindrical opening 6 is bored from the bottom of the opening at 5 through to the rear side of the door as shown.

In the installation of the latch, a plate I of required size and which may have a. decorative outline is located to cover all of. the openings 3,. 4 and '5 at their exposed ends at the outer side of the door. A depending handle. 8, at its. upper end, is connected to the plate substantially at the opening at 5 and extends downwardly and is directed inwardly toward the door and secured by means of a screw 8 passing through the lower end of the handle and through a plate In. between it and the door as shown in Fig. 1. The handle 8 at its upperend portion H is, reduced in diameter and threaded; and passed through an opening in the plate t for the reception of a securing nut I I. A screw l'2 of less diameter than the opening, 6 passes therethrough from the inner side of the. door to and is threaded into. an interiorly boredopening in. the part it. With this. construction there. is permitted a limited lateral adjustmentv of the upper portion of the piate T. by a, swinging movement about the axis. of the screw 9, the larger size of the opening, 6 permitting. a limited degree of'sidewi'se movement of the screw 1.2..

At the inner side. of the plate spaced ears. [3. connected thereto project inwardly into the opening, at t. and. upon a pivot. l4 passing through said ears anoperating lever is pivotally mounted be.- tween its ends. its inner arm [5 passing underneath the housing (later described) of the body 3 of the latch structure. Said lever passes through the plate I and at its outer end is formed into a widened thumb engaging piece 16 which, preferably, at its upper side, is concaved for ready engagement of the ball of the thumb therewith. The lever is spring actuated (not shown) so as to normally lift the thumb piece 16 to an upper position as shown in Fig. 1. Above the ears I3 a. sleeve I! is secured which is of an elongated form in a horizontal direction as best shown in Fig. 2, the purpose of which will be later described.

For the operation and withdrawal of the latch bolt from the inner side of the door a spindle bar l8 square in cross section, adapted to have a door knob l9 threaded thereon and detachably secured, at its inner end is passed through the opening 3 and through the housing of the latch, with the usual escutcheon plate at the inner side of the door secured thereto to cover said opening 3 and rotatably mount the knob l9. Said bar at its outer end is provided with a pin 2| extending axially therefrom and which (Fig. '7)

may be annularly grooved at spaced points in its length at 22. This pin at its free end enters the sleeve 11, and with the door of greatest thickness the pin is not changed in any manner; but for doors of lesser thickness either one or both of the sections shown between the groove 22 may be broken ofi, depending upon the thickness of the door, for reception in the lateral elongated sleeve l1. Said sleeve provides a locating and guiding member in'the installation of the latch when the spindle bar 18 is passed through the latch housing, and permits a limited lateral adjustment of the plate 1 as is evident. The spindle bar 18 adjacent its inner end is drilled for the passage of a pin 23 therethrough to hold it against outward movement after it has been passed through the latch housing. It is to be understood that the about-to-be-described latch mechanism is operated from the inner side of the door by turning the knob I9 and from the outer side of the door by depressing the thumb piece I6.

The latch construction includes a housing of sheet metal the body of which is made of two stamped parts. Each of said-parts between its ends and toward the outer end thereof is of a semi- -cylindrical from, as shown at 24, and has a front extension also of semi-cylindrical form of a lesser diameter, the parts 25 being depressed inwardly to provide a continuous annular trough or groove 26 when the two parts of the housing are placed together in edge to edge contact. Between the larger and smaller diameter sections 24 an annular shoulder 21 is provided. Also the section 25 outwardly from the annular groove at 26 is pressed inwardly to provide short longitudinal slots as at 28 diametrically opposite each other in the assembled housing (Fig. 3).

At the inner ends of the semi-cylindrical sections 24 of the housing the metal is pressed inwardly on each, making shoulders 29 and thence bent and continued to the rear with parallel sides 30 and flanges extending toward each other to provide an inner housing portion of substantially rectangular shape in cross section. Said sides 38 between their ends are outwardly pressed to make cup-like lateral housings 3i and the inner end of the housing is completed by two inturned flanges 32 which may be joined together by a dovetail construction (Fig. 1) in the manner fully described in my prior application, Ser. No. 549,644, filed August 16, 1944, now Patent Number 2,423,988, dated July 15, 1947. The two parts of edge contact complete the housing making an enclosure which, however, at its lower side and toward its rear end has a longitudinal slot 33 therein (Figs. 5 and 6) formed by cutting away edge portions of the metal. At the upper side of the housing a similar but shorter slot is made (not numbered) as shown.

The housing is completed, after the two parts thereof have been put together in edge to edge contact and with the ends 32 joined as indicated, by a cup-like member 34 open at its inner end and joined at its outer end to a rectangular plate 35 which, when the latch is installed, seats in a suitable mortice at the free edge of the door made to receive it, and has openings for the passage of screws to connect to the door. The cylindrical sides of the cup member 34 between the ends thereof and at diametrically opposed points have projections 36 pressed inwardly of a size to traverse the slots at 28 and be received in the groove at 26 for rotative movement therearound to locate the securing plate 35 at a proper position. Said plate 35 and the bottom of the cup member 34 engaging thereagainst have latch bolt head passing openings and are formed with suitable guides 31 at opposite sides of the opening for said bolt head.

A retractor means including member 38 of cylindrical form closed at its inner end except for a central opening through its bottom and with an annular flange 39 at its outer end is located'within the cylindrical portion of the housing, said flange bein adapted to guide the front end of the retractor 21. Two spaced apart means in the housing retracting bars 40 are permanently integral at their front end portions to the cup member 38 and extend rearwardly in the housing to the lateral housing portions 3|, each carrying a pin 4| adjacent its inner end at the side thereof nearest the inner side of a door on which the latch is installed. In the lateral housin portion 3| nearest the inner side of the door a roll-back 42 is mounted for rocking movement having a flange 43 of the usual construction of the shape best shown in Fig. 5, behind the shoulders of which the pins 41 pass. The housing portions 3| have openings at their outer sides and the roll-back 42 has a squared opening to pass the square spindle bar l8 so that on turning the knob 18 and rocking the bar l8 the roll-back is rocked, a shoulder on the flange 43 bearing against a pin 4| on one of the bars 40 upon rocking the bar l8 in either direction, thereby moving the bars 40 and attached member 38 inwardly lengthwise of the housing. A relatively heavy coiled spring 44 at its front end bears against the inner side of the flange 39 and at its rear end against a disk 45 which in turn bears against the shoulders 29 of the housing previously described, it being evident that on rock--- ing the spindle bar l8 and moving bars 48 and connected member 38 inwardly said spring 44 is compressed.

The latch bolt includes a latch bolt head 46 of conventional construction, having a beveled strike plate engaging side and passing through the openings in the plates 35 and the bottom of the housing cup member 34. A rod 41 extends from the inner end of the head 46 passing through the central openin in the bottom of the mem- 52 grooved. for the reception oi. oi spring: ring 49- which seats in said groove.

Within the housing at. its; rear end and at; the inner side thereoi a, channek shaped: bracket, to is: located having tongues. it extending: from. the flanges thereof to pass through. the adiacent side of the housing for riveting over to secure the bracket. in place. Bracket. 5&-

a pivot pin. 52 upon. which a. bell-crank lever is mounted, one arm 53, or which extends; downwardly and forwardly through the slot at 3,, Theotherarm- 54. extends. upwardlyand ha Pivotal: connection to; the rear end. out a link; 55;, whichlies. along;- side the upper bar as. and at. its, torw-ard end. portion is extended downwardly andturned back to provide a hook 56? openatits. rear side. A finger 51' is.- pivotally carried by aphi 5| at its upper end, which through the outer side of the housing and is. rivetedover, a pin 51! between the ends at the; finger extending. in the opposite direction and being engaged. by the hook 56.

Between the split ring; and the bottomof the. member 38- a saddle including cross bar 6 8; of metal is located having, an opening throughwhich rod 41 passes, The cross ill at ite ends. isturned at right angles forming. parallel arms. tilv guided on the bars 40 by reason of their angle shape in cross section and car 62 as. shown. Qn-e of said bar is. extended further to the rear than the other and turnedlaterallyat63-to providea lug against which the free end of the finger 5,1. bears at the. outer side of. the lug.

It is apparent that on, turning. the. knob l9. in either direction, as previously described, an in:- ward movement oi retracting bars. to. and the connected member wilt take place, resisted by the heavy coiled spring 4A.. By reason of. rod 41 passing through the bottom of the. member 38v and the ring 49 carried thereby such movement will withdraw the latch bolt. head 46- Thus the bolt head may be released from a keeper on. a door jamb with which it is. engaged freeing the door for opening on. turning knob I19 in either direction. It is further apparent that on closing, the door the beveled or cam side. of v the head.4.6, s.triking against the keeper will. cause. thev head to be forced inwardly with a. compression of the light spring 48 and a movement of the rodinwardly,

On the operation of the. latch from the outer side of the. door, a. depression of, the. thumb piece. It elevates the inner arm [5 therebyturning. the bell crank lever about. its pivot 51 moving the link 55. inwardly; andhook 5d being in engagement withpin 59,, finger 51 is movedinwardly (Fig. 6). Such finger at its. freev end, bearing against. the lug. 63, pulls, the. saddleiconsisting of the. cross bar GIL and thebais '61, from the position shown in. Fig. 5' tothatin Fig. 6, withdrawing the latch bolt head in. the position shown in Fig. 6, and compressing. the lighter spring 48.

operated piece is; shown. i-n-tull lines; and at two other positions indicated in dash lines, It is evi- Inasmuch as in this operation, the lighter spring 48, only has to, be overcome, no un (till dent that the. distances oi the: applications of force from the arm ii to: the bell. crank lever arm 53 to. the axis at pivot 52 are. thus varied; and of course the. position oi contact 01 the; bell. crank arm 5.3; against. the: upper" sideoil the arm l5 isv at. difiiei'ent. distances. from. the axis of the: pin [4. about which the. thumb operated lever is turned. This lateral adjustment. Fig. 5- of the arm it is accomplished by shitting the plate t laterally to di-fierent positions to get a proper adjustment and compensation. tor the varying leverages so that, irrespective or the door thickness, substantially the same force is. required against the thumb-piece Hi of the outside: op erating leverunder, all conditions.

The construction described is relatively simple,, manuiactured and installed with economy,, is sure: in operation and durable service. The inven. tion is; defined in the appended claims andis. to be considered comprehensive oi alliorms; ot'stnucture coming. within their scope.v

I claim:

I A. latch including an. elongated. housing: htwing an opening in one end, a bolt including a bolt. head adapted to pass through said opening, and a rod extending, inwardly theretrom into: the: housing, a cup-shaped member through which said rod passes, a relatively light spring. between said head and cup member: located. around the rod, said housing; having a shoulder: against: which. said cup member engages: limiting, its; outward movement, a relatively heavy spring means; act.- ing on said cup. member to normallymove it, in an outward direction, two; spaced retractor bars extending from the cup member toward the inner end of the housing, manually opera-bile means; at one side of the housing engaging with said, bars to retract the cup: member against said heavy spring means, a saddle having spaced apart arms and a cross. member connecting them. at... their outer ends throughwhich said cross member said: bolt rod passes, said saddle being,- mounted. for slidable movement. on said retractor bars; meansadjacent the inner end of said bolt rod and en?- gaging against the inner side of; said cross bar of.- said saddle to. operatively connect the bolt and: saddle whereby the bolt is. retracted; on inward; movement oi the saddle, and means mounted. within the housing adapted to: be: manually op-- erated and. engaging. with said saddle for retracting the bolt against the. light. spring.

2. A latch construction including an elongated generally tubular housing adapted to be received in a. cylindrical; opening bored at the vertical edge of a door, said housing having an opening at its outer end, a latch bolt having a head passing. through said opening; and a rod; extending inwardly from said head,, a retractor means pro jected by a stronger spring, means; located with-.- in the housing, and operatively connected with. said rod, a. relatively light spring means: between said bolt head and retractormeans,- normally projecting the bolt head outwardly but yielda'ble upon pressure. of the bolt head to: move it, and-.- said rod inwardly without movement of said; ne tractor means, two spaced bars; forming a part of said retractor means extending inwardly. into said housing, a roll-back mounted; the housing at one side of the bars with interengaging means between said roll-back and bars for retracting; the retractor means against its: stronger spring on rotation of the roll-back, in eiztl-i-er'direction.

thereby moving the retractor means and the bolt inwardly in said housing. a second retractor; means slidably mounted on and; betweensaid.

bars having an operative connection to said bolt rod, a bell crank lever mounted in the housing adjacent the inner end thereof, one arm of which extends through a side of the housing, and means connected with the other arm of the bell crank lever and engaging with said second retractor whereby on movement toward the housing of the outwardly extending arm of the bell crank lever said second retractor is moved inwardly with an accompanying inward movement of said latch bolt.

3. A construction as defined in claim 2, combined with a, spindle rod extending through said housin and through the roll-back therein, said spindle rod having a non-circular cross section and the roll-back a like non-circular opening through which the spindle passes, said spindle being adapted to be rocked about its horizontal axis and said spindle at its inner end passing through the side of the housing opposite that at which the roll-back is mounted, and a transverse pin passing through the inner end portion of the spindle at the outer side of said opposite side of the housing.

4. A construction as defined in claim 2 and a spindle of non-circular cross section extending through the housing and through the roll-back therein, said roll-back having a like opening for such passage, and said spindle at its inner end after passing through the housing having a transverse opening therethrough, a transverse pin passing through said opening, an axial pin projecting from the inner end of said spindle, a plate adapted to be secured at the outer adjacent side of the door, and a lateral elongated sleeve secured at the inner side of the plate to receive said pin.

5. A construction as defined in claim 2, and a spindle extending transversely through said housing and roll-back, said spindle having a non-circular cross section and the roll-back having a corresponding opening for its passage, a transverse pin passing through said spindle at its inner end and at the outer side of the opposite side of the housing, an axial pin extending from the inner end of the spindle, a plate adapted to be secured to a door on which the latch mechanism is installed, a lateral elongated sleeve at the inner side of the plate into which said axial pin extends permitting lateral adjustment of the plate, and a lever passing through said plate and pivotally mounted thereon having an outer manual engageable arm and having an inner arm passing underneath the arm of the bell crank lever which extends through a side of the housing.

6. A construction as in claim 2, and an operating spindle passing transversely through said housing and roll-back, said spindle being of noncircular cross section and the roll-back having a like opening for said passage, means at the inner end of the spindle preventing its withdrawal through the housing, an axial pin extending from the inner end of said spindle, said pin being provided with spaced apart reductions in cross section whereby sections thereof may be readily broken off, and a plate adapted to be secured to a door on which the latch is installed adjacent said pin, a lateral elongated sleeve on the inner side of the plate, one interior dimension of which is slightly larger than the diameter of the pin and the other of which is greatly in excess of the diameter of the pin, and a manually operable lever pivotally mounted on and extending through the plate having an inner arm adapted'to belocated in operative'position with respect to the arm of the bell crank lever which extends through a side of the housing for operation of said bell crank lever by manual operation of the plate carried lever.

7. A latch structure adapted to be mounted at the free vertical edge of the door in an opening made therefrom horizontally in the door comprising, a housing adapted to be received in said opening, said housing having an open outer end, a latch bolt having a head projectable through said opening, a light spring means acting on said bolt normally projecting it outward, retractor means operatively connected with said bolt, a heavier spring means acting on said retractor means for normally moving it toward the open end of the housing, stop means for limiting the extent of outward movement of the retractor means, manually operable means extending into the housing and operable from one side thereof for retracting said retractor means against said heavier spring and moving the bolt and said first mentioned spring inwardly, a, second retractor means slidably mounted on the first retractor means and operatively connected with the bolt, inward movement of which retracts the bolt with compression of the light spring means, mechanism located within the housing operatively connected with the second retractor means and having an element projecting through a side of the housing adapted to be engaged and moved to retract said second retractor means, said element extending through one side of the housing comprising, an arm of a bell crank lever pivotally mounted in said housing, the other arm of which is operatively connected to said second retractor for manual operation thereof.

8. A latch comprising, an elongated generally tubular housing and having at least at one side thereof a roll-back receiving housing portion, said housing at its outer end having an opening for the passage of a bolt head, a bolt having a head extending through said. opening and a rod extending inwardly therefrom, retracting means comprising a cup shaped member and two spaced substantially parallel bars extending inwardly therefrom through the bottom of which said rod passes, a relatively light spring means between the bottom of the cup member and the inner side of the bolt head, pins extending to one side from the rear end portions of each of said bars, a roll-back 'rotatably mounted in said roll-back receiving portion of the housing having an arcuate flange with shoulders back of which said pins extend, means for manually rocking said roll-back in either direction, stop means in the housing for limiting the outward movement of the retractor means, a saddle slidably mounted on and between said bars having a front end portion through which the bolt head rod passes, connections between said saddle and rod for withdrawing the rod on inward movement of the saddle,, a manually operable means mounted within and having a part extending through one side of said housing engaging with said saddle to move it inwardly on said retractor bars for retracting the bolt against the force of the lighter spring, said manually operable means including a bell crank lever pivotall mounted within said housing near the rear end thereof having a free arm extending through a side of the housing, a finger pivotall mounted at one end on and within said housing, said saddle having a lateral projecting lug at its inner end in front of which the free end of said finger engages, and a link pivotally connected at one end to the other end of the bell crank lever and provided at its free end with a hook, said finger having a laterally projecting pin between its ends with which said hook is engaged, whereby inward pressure against the free end of the bell crank lever moves said saddle and connected latch bolt inwardly.

9. A latch comprising a latch bolt, means for retracting said latch bolt including a pivoted lever, a thumb piece pivoted between its ends and engageable with said lever at one side of its pivot and means for adjusting the engagement between the thumb piece and the lever at different distances from the pivot of the lever.

10. A latch comprising a latch bolt, means for retracting said latch bolt including a rotatable spindle, other means for retracting the latch bolt including a pivoted lever, a plate, a. thumb piece pivoted between its ends on said plate, means 10 for mounting said plate for engagement of said thumb piece at one side of its pivot with said pivoted lever at adjustable distances from the pivot thereof and means on said plate for adjustably receiving and guiding an end of said spindle.

ALBERT F. LICKTEIG.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,777,776 Van Dooren Oct. 7, 1930 1,868,984 Lickteig July 26, 1932 2,266,106 Voight et a1 Dec. 16, 1941 2,314,488 Fellows Mar. 23, 1943 2,351,077 Sega] June 13, 19 14: 

